Holding and display device for bottle caps and the like



y 3, 1969 L. o. RAYMOND 3,443,686

HOLDING AND DISPLAY DEVICE FOR BOTTLE CAPS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 14, 1967 INVENTOR LESTER 0. RA YMO/VD A TORNEYS 3,443,686 HOLDING AND DISPLAY DEVICE FOR BOTTLE CAPS AND THE LIKE Lester 0. Raymond, 3436 45th Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. 55406 Filed Sept. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 667,783 Int. Cl. 365d 73/00; A44b 7/00; G09f 1/10 US. Cl. 206-78 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A transparent foldable sheet of material contains a group of printed blocks arranged in a uniform pattern of rows and columns with each block defining a location for mounting an article such as a bottle cap or the like. A strip of clear adhesive runs down each row or column on the back of the sheet and is covered over with a backing strip which is removed when an article is to be attached. The top of the sheet is attached to a stiff header which, for example, may be made out of cardboard. The unit is constructed so that when it is filled with mounted articles it can be folded into a neat compact package.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention is directed toward a device which is used for attaching packaging and displaying articles such as bottle caps or the like. In particular it is discussed toward providing means by which quantities of articles of this nature can be saved, for example, when saving for premiums oifered by a manufacturer. It is further directed toward providing convenient storage whereby the attached articles are displayed for quick visual inspection and the quantities are quickly determined. At the same time the invention provides means whereby the mounting device can be easily folded up into a neat compact package and stored away after it is filled with the articles. Heretofore articles of this nature were usually just thrown into containers such as bags or boxes and then when redeemed they had to be dumped out and inspected and countered one at a time.

SUMMARY A sheet of foldable transparent material, such as a clear polyethylene of a suitable size and shape, is marked off with a number of blocks arranged in rows and columns with each block defining a location for an article to be attached. On the back of the sheet a clear adhesive is applied to each block and is covered over with a strip of protective material. The protective material is removed to attach an article to the back of the sheet. The blocks are arranged in a uniform fashion so that when the holder is completely filled it can be folded up into a convenient and compact package for storage and transportation. As an added feature, a stiffener made out of cardboard or the like is attached along the top edge of the polyethylene sheet and it can be used for various purposes. For example, instructions on how to use the holder or advertisement can be printed on the header.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a front view illustration of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the manner in which an article such as a bottle cap is attached to the device; and

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the holder filled nited States Patent O 3,443,686 Patented May 13, 1969 with attached articles illustrating the manner in which it can be folded into a compact package.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A thin sheet 10 of transparent flexible material such as polyethylene contains four sets of printed square blocks 11. Typically, with no limitation thereto being intended, the sheet may be in the order of .0015 inch thick and approximately 14 x 14 inches square. Each set of blocks 11 takes up approximately one quadrant of the sheet 10. The dimensions of the blocks and, correspondingly, the number of blocks in a set, are selected according to the size of the article which is to be held and displayed. Each of the blocks 11 defines an area in which a single article should be mounted. In a typical case for mounting an average size bottle cap, the blocks 11 are approximately 1% inch square and the overall dimension of each set of blocks, containing blocks in a square five by five arrangement, is slightly less than 6 inches square. An unfilled space of approximately 1% inch appears between each adjacent set of blocks.

On the back of the transparent sheet 10 down the center of each column of blocks 11 within the respective sets, a strip 12 of transparent adhesive is formed. The adhesive is shown only on two of the sets in FIG. 1 for clarity. The adhesive is preferably a pressure-sensitive variety and can be selected from any of a number of commercially available adhesives. It can be purchased in strip form already on a backing layer or it can be applied to the sheet by machine or some other process and then covered over with a protective backing layer 13. In order to mount an article, such as bottle cap 14, at a block-designated location the backing strip 13 is pulled off and the adhesive strip 12 will remain on the sheet in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3. The face of the bottle cap 14 is then pressed onto the adhesive 12 where it is held at its location and the face of the cap is visible through the front of the sheet. When all of the blocks 11 are filled with bottle caps, the sheet 10 is folded up in the manner partially illustrated in FIG. 4, by first folding the bottom half over the back of the top half and then folding the left quadrant over the right or vice versa. This produces a smaller flat compact package which is easy to store and carry. When the caps are turned in for redemption, the sheet merely has to be unfolded to observe that all the bottle caps are correct and to see at a glance that a quantity of bottle caps are being redeemed. This is considerably easier and more convenient compared to the previous practice of hand assorting and counting.

Attached across the top of the sheet 10 by adhesive or stitching or some other convenient way is a cardboard header '15. This header serves multiple purposes. First of all, it is provided with a small hole 16 by which the device can be hung on a nail or a peg so that it is easy to mount and see the bottle caps as they are attached. A further feature is that facsimiles of the various bottle caps and/ or advertisement or directions for using the display device 'can be conveniently printed on the header so it can be observed readily by the user. Still another feature is achieved by providing a pair of spaced-apart vertical score lines 17 and '18 near the center of the header. When the sheet is filled with the bottle caps and folded over in the manner previously described and as partially illustrated in FIG. 4, the header 15 is then folded over the package to stiffen, stabilize and protect the package. This makes it easier to stack the packages one atop another and to carry them in bundles.

Although the preferred embodiment of this invention has been described as it is used for mounting and displaying bottle caps, it is clear that the device can be used for holding other articles such as coins, jewelry, savings tokens, etc., with all of its attendant features and advantages. Furthermore, it is apparent that the arrangement of the blocks and the sets is an arbitrary choice provided the arrangement is such that the device, when filled with articles, can be conveniently folded into a compact package. The number of blocks in a set and the number of sets per holder is also a matter of choice depending on the type, size and shape of the article and provided that it can be folded up into a compact package. Although in the preferred embodiment the header is constructed out of cardboard, it is clear that it can be made out of numerous materials to provide the same functions and attain the same features. Further, it is clear that the adhesive can be attached in spot form at each block location and that other minor variations can be made within the teachings of this invention.

The spaces between adjacent sets of blocks on the transparent mounting sheet not only are designed to allow the sheet to be folded up conveniently when filled with articles, but also to provide additional space for advertising and/ or identification copy.

I claim:

l. A display holder for bottle caps and the like, comprising: a sheet of uncovered foldable transparent material containing an imprinted plurality of sets of blocks clearly visible from either the front or the back of the sheet, each of said blocks defining a location for an article to be mounted on said sheet and each of said sets defining a foldable area of said sheet said imprinted blocks being arranged identically in rows and columns in each set whereby the number of articles mounted on the sheet in the blocks can be determined at a glance; and transparent adhesive on the back of said sheet in each block for removably attaching articles face first against said sheet whereby each mounted article can be identified at a glance from the front of said sheet.

2. A display holder as in claim 1 wherein said imprinted blocks are square and are arranged to form an even number of square sets, each set being spaced-apart from adjacent sets sufliciently so that when articles are mounted in all of the blocks the sheet can be folded compactly with the sets lying on top of one another.

3. A display holder as in claim 2 further including a fiat header fixedly attached to the upper edge of said sheet made out of material substantially stiffer than said sheet.

4. A display holder as in claim 3 wherein said header contains vertical parallel score lines for folding the header about the folded sheet.

5. A display holder as in claim 2 wherein the adhesive is on the back of the sheet in strip form along each column of blocks and is covered with a removable backing strip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 791,912 6/ 1905 Jackson. 1,115,860 11/1914 Owen. 1,566,832 12/1925 Cook 20682 X 2,127,677 8/1938 Collin 12920 2,896,351 7/1959 Johnson -158 MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 40158; 129-20 

